Samantha Stephens
"You're one witch in a million." - Darrin on Samantha Stephens Samantha Stephens was a witch and the central character of Bewitched. She was the wife of Darrin Stephens and the mother of Tabitha and Adam Stephens, as well as the daughter of Endora. Samantha was unique as a witch in many ways; she married a mortal and refuses to practice her magic in loyalty to her promise to Darrin, but no matter how hard Samantha tried, even after 8 years of marriage, she could not help her magic and stayed true to her heritage. Endora strongly disagreed with Samantha's betrayal of her fellow witches. A seemingly normal household wife, Samantha was subject to several suspicions and questioning, mainly because of her nosy neighbour Gladys Kravitz. Biography Early Life Samantha was the daughter of a witch and a warlock, Endora and Maurice, and had to identify herself as a witch under Endora's encouragement from when she was very young. Endora stated Samantha was the only child on the block with a unicorn, no doubt conjured by magic. Her Marriage Endora, Samantha's mother, was appalled by her daughter's decision to marry a mortal. Samantha refused to let Endora's opinion get in the way of her marriage with Darrin, and went through with it. However, after Darrin's proposal he had no idea that Samantha was a witch. After Samantha proved her powers in front of his very eyes, Darrin bolted and refused her. However, his love seemed to win out and they married. Upon the beginning of her marriage to Darrin, Samantha began enduring a lot of trouble. Endora tormented her new husband, but Samantha refused to allow it and tried to curse her own mother, which shocked Endora. Endora refused to accept her daughter's marriage and Samantha often endured the disapproval of it, although she didn't seem to care. Shortly after marrying Darrin Samantha and her mother went in search of a house, which they decorated using their powers, something Gladys Kravitz saw. Buying the Stephens' House Samantha and Darrin made a claim on a house, which Samantha visited with her mother and decorated. Using their powers, they moved around and changed the initial decoration until deciding on some things, while a horrified and puzzled Gladys Kravitz watched from the window but could find no proof to support her allegations. After Samantha and Darrin bought the house they lived in it for over eight years, making good use of it, and the house Samantha and her husband had bought later became known as the Stephens' house, or, more importantly, the Stephens' home. Stopping The Witch's Seduction Samantha had never minded Darrin working with other girls, usually models, until one sparked her interest and she had to get involved in order to protect her husband's fidelity. This time Endora had sent a gorgeous witch to seduce Darrin and break up his marriage with Samantha. Sam stopped this by turning Darrin into a goldfish and sending the other witch away. However, despite the fact that this had happened, Samantha would later deal with many more cases just like it. Her Pregnancy Not long into her marriage with Darrin, Samantha was pregnant with their first child. Darrin began wondering about life with magical children, although he didn't know that despite the fact that his children did ''have magic, they wouldn't behave as he had imagined. The Birth of Tabitha Nine months later, Samantha gave birth to her first child and daughter Tabitha, whose name was originally spelled differently (Tabatha). She kept her daughter's powers secret from Darrin, who doted on his daughter not knowing of her witchcraft. As would later happen, Tabitha's witchcraft would spiral out of control and Samantha was the only one remotely capable of stopping it. She too doted on her daughter and Tabitha's birth was so far the most significant event to happen during her and Darrin's marriage. Tabitha would precede the second Stephens child, Adam, who would also prove to have witchcraft. Tabitha became subject to curiosity and questioning. After Tabitha's birth, Samantha went out less and became a stay-at-home wife, taking care of her daughter. Her daughter resembled her in both looks and characteristics, the most significant of which would be witchcraft. Tabitha also twitched her nose while using witchcraft, something Samantha frequently did. Keeping Tabitha's Witchcraft Under Control Samantha and Darrin later had much trouble keeping their daughter's witchcraft under control. Tabitha, being a child, had little idea of the fact that what she was doing could land her parents in serious trouble. Samantha was delighted to see that Tabitha shared her main characteristic, nose twitching when using witchcraft. Darrin's boss, Larry Tate, visited the Stephens home with his wife Louise Tate, and Tabitha's powers spiralled out of control. Samantha would stop Tabitha from moving her toys, and practicing other forms of witchcraft, although Endora, Samantha's mother, encouraged her granddaughter, and when left alone with Tabitha babysitting she would teach her the principles of witchcraft. Samantha's exclamation at discovering her daughter's nose twitching was, "You twitched your nose! Just like Mommy!" Catching the Square Green Spots Disease Soon after coming into contact with black Peruvian roses Samantha caught the incurable "square green spots disease". She was bedridden the whole time and her witchcraft had stopped working. Upon summoning Dr. Bombay, the physician for witches better known as the "witch doctor", he revealed that the roses had been used to drive witches out of Peru. Darrin was forced to go to a witch shop and buy the medication required to cure Samantha's supposedly incurable disease, which included some very unpleasant things such as the eyes of some bats. She was also required to take two aspirin and half a pint of porpoise milk. Samantha's face sported green spots, a symbol of her disease. Upon taking the required cure, the green spots on her face disappeared and she was cured. However, during her sickness Gladys Kravitz had snooped and seen peculiar things, although unfortunately for her she would never be able to prove them. Conjuring Characters of the Civil War Samantha was assigned to write a play about the Civil War, but her attempts were unsuccessful. Realizing she would not succeed otherwise, she conjured up three characters from the Civil War as she could see her creations before her eyes: A civil war officer, an Indian, and an extremely beautiful and stunning girl from Pennsylvania. Afterwards, Darrin discovered this. Every time Samantha thought about her characters, they would appear, forcing her to clear her mind of any thought of them. Gladys Kravitz noticed these characters and they told her they were "not real", freaking her out. Eventually, after the characters kept appearing Samantha sent them away for good, only to come up with new characters once these ones left. Gladys Kravitz walked in on the creation of these new characters, screaming and running out of the Stephens' home yelling her husband Abner's name. Test of Tabitha's Magic Eventually, a test of Tabitha's magic was required. Samantha's aunts and mother came over to the Stephens' house, testing Tabitha's powers with the conclusion that they were extremely powerful. However, after they tried to take Tabitha away to a school, Samantha called on her father's assistance, Maurice, who fixed the issue and put the three female witches in their places. Journey to 14th Century Ireland A friend of Darrin's family, Gerry O'Toole, visited the Stephens' family home but turned out being a wood nymph, an archenemy of witches. Samantha was forced to travel to 14th century Ireland to lift the 600 year old curse placed on Darrin the Bold and his descendants by the nymph. She rejected Darrin the Bold's advances and was chased around and courted by him, although she refused to do so. She appeared to be a beautiful and lone maiden and Darrin the Bold was clearly smitten with her. However, she did not return these affections and travelled back to the modern day as soon as she could, after having been in the 14th century. The curse had also been lifted, leaving no reason for her to stay in 14th century Ireland. This episode was repeated, starring first Dick York and later Dick Sargent in the repeating of the episode, something which later became common in the series. Discovery of Her Witch Doctor Darrin was struck with a cold although it was hard for both him and Samantha, despite the sickness being just the common cold. Endora organized for Dr. Bombay to cure Darrin using gold pills, although Samantha realized Darrin had no knowledge of her witch doctor's true nature. Darrin realized this when the gold pills starting having undesirable side effects, although Samantha's secret was out and Darrin wanted to kill her mother Endora. Dr. Bombay was their main reference for curing illness and sicknesses, usually only witch-involved. As Darrin would later find out, Samantha commonly used Dr. Bombay to cure her. Darrin would frequently call him "the quack" but not in the usual way one would refer to "their" doctor. The Queen of Witches When the old queen of Samantha's species, witches, decided to step down, she appointed Samantha the Queen of Witches. Samantha took the crown unwilling, as she could not juggle being both an ordinary housewife and the Queen of her species. She would frequently call meetings with her fellow group of witches and they would hail to their new, fresh Queen. Darrin strongly disapproved of Samantha being Queen and would sometimes wake up to find a group of witches surrounding his wife, who was dressed as Queen. Endora, on the other hand, enjoyed having her daughter be the Queen. Because she was the Queen, Samantha wore a long silver dress that glittered and a golden crown to symbolize her power - upon taking the crown, she also held a formal stick which the purpose remains unknown. She repeated the honourable words that the older Queen had told her to repeat, and promised loyalty to her species. After being crowned, Samantha replaced all other witches as the new witchly favourite. Ending Up in Plymouth After Samantha's Aunt Clara casted a spell that went wrong on Thanksgiving, it sent Samantha, Darrin, Tabitha, Gladys Kravitz and Aunt Clara herself to the 17th century Plymouth. They stayed in Plymouth for a short time, but Darrin was accused of witchcraft shortly after their arrival when he was spotted lighting a match. In the court that would ultimately decide Darrin's fate, Samantha spoke up and saved her husband's life by proving to the Plymouth people that because someone was different it did not mean they were a witch, and this was essential in saving Darrin's life. Shortly after, Aunt Clara remembered the spell that accidently brought them all to Plymouth and reversed it; they were transported back home shortly after. An excited Mrs Kravitz went running to her husband Abner in Plymouth clothes: unfortunately for her, Samantha took them away with witchcraft, replacing them with just normal modern clothes. This trip would not be the only time that time would be rewinded and Samantha and the others would deal with people from back then; they met several historical icons like Napoleon, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar and Queen Victoria. And almost all of the time, it was an accidental spell. Going South Brunhilde, a witch, sought vengeance on Serena, Samantha's cousin, who had been seeing Brunhilde's husband. Mistaking Samantha for Serena, she sent her to the year 1868 where Samantha had no memory of who she was and how she got there. She was taken in by Rance, who was smitten with the beautiful lone maiden and sought to court her. Serena sent Darrin to the year 1868 in order for him to save Samantha; one willing kiss would break the spell. However, Samantha proved to be impossible and the entire time Darrin chased her she would not budge. However, after Darrin was seriously hurt by Rance, she reconsidered. Her compassion won out and she gave a willing kiss, which transported her back to herself in the 20th century, leaving Rance alone without the lady he had been courting. Dealing with Napoleon While trying to conjure up a napoleon cake to replace an angel cake, Uncle Arthur, Samantha's mischevious and pratical joking uncle, accidentally summoned Napoleon to the 20th century. He proved to be impossible and wanted to conquer England. When Larry Tate, Darrin's boss and best friend, decided to come to dinner at the Stephens' home with his wife Louise, they noticed Napoleon but Samantha and Darrin had Napoleon under strict orders to act as Samantha's cousin; he did so, and was compared to Napoleon, supposedly a "dead ringer" for him, as Larry said. He also asked Napoleon to act in a commercial for the McMann and Tate advertising agency. Napoleon complied, although Samantha tried to tell him otherwise. Samantha was instrumental in ensuring Napoleon didn't work in the commercial; it was a complete failure. Larry was furious and so was his client. Uncle Arthur remembered the spell he had accidentally used to bring Napoleon into the 20th century and reversed it, sending Napoleon back. Hiring Esmeralda Samantha hired a witch maid named Esmeralda to tend to the Stephens' household. A loyal but frustrating maid, Esmeralda would disappear when uncomfortable or embarassed, and disliked Darrin. However, she eventually grew to embrace his presence and Samantha defended Darrin when Esmeralda would ever show contempt or dislike. Esmeralda was referred to as the "Yoo-Hoo Maid", and Samantha would call, "Esmeralda! Yoo hoo!" if she wanted the maid to come do something. Another characteristic of Esmeralda's that bothered the Stephens' was that when she sneezed, a random creation of magic would appear such as seals or goats. Once, Esmeralda's sneeze even conjured up Santa Claus, who was stuck at the Stephens' house as a result. Esmeralda stayed the Stephens' maid for about two years, never retiring. She was also a dud at witchcraft. Her spells often went wrong and she had little control over what her powers conjured up even if she was attempting to achieve something. However, a few times her magic worked, suggesting she still had a little bit of power in her. The Arrival of Julius Caesar One of Esmeralda's spells went awry when she tried to make a caesar salad but instead ended up conjuring Julius Caesar into the 20th century. This was not the first time Samantha had dealt with a famous person in history, and neither would it be the last. Julius Caesar charmed Samantha and Esmeralda, but it was the main focus of the maid to send him back to the ancient times. When not watched, Julius Caesar left the Stephens' home and went into the public. A group of hippies noticed him and annoyed the man, who responded viciously. A police officer was called to the scene. Back home, Esmeralda remembered the spell and when Julius was back at the Stephens' residence he was summoned back to ancient times, possibly the second century. The Birth of Adam Samantha gave birth to her son, Adam, after 6 years of marriage. The young boy was subject to questioning, as Darrin did not want to deal with a warlock for a son, the same way he had hoped that Tabitha would not inherit her mother's powers. Adam was a much doted-on child, as Tabitha had been. He too had powers, although they were presumaby not as strong as Tabitha's. After Adam was born, Samantha's father Maurice placed a spell on the child that caused every mortal who saw him to fall in love with him. They even rejected their own children for this. However, Maurice was forced to put things straight. Adam's birth seemed to have been the most significant thing ever to happen to the Stephens', apart from Tabitha's birth. He was the second of only two children. Adam's birth caused Samantha to spend more time with him and refuse to take Tabitha out much; this offended the older girl's feelings, and she conjured up her own Samantha as a result. Samantha, however, assured her daughter she loved her just as much as she loved Adam, despite the fact that she couldn't take Tabitha out as much anymore. Adam's name would originally have been different. Maurice was angered by the fact that Adam had not been named after him; although he eventually came to accept the fact that his grandson had been named Adam. Sent to Henry VIII's Court While on a museum tour in Salem, Samantha noticed a man in a painting pleading for her to release him; he had been sentenced to 1000 years in the painting as punishment by another witch named Malvina. After Samantha eventually released him, Malvina arrived, freezing her and sending her away to the 1500's as punishment for having released the man in the painting. Samantha arrived in the court dressed in modern clothes and unsure of who and what she was. A man blessed her and sent her to the castle, after announcing that the latest Queen, the fifth one named Catherine, had just been executed. Samantha was dressed in clothes that suited the time period. She was re-taught to play the lute, and performed in front of the King. She caught his eye just as he had sworn not to marry or like another woman again; struck by her beauty and talent, as well as her grace and singing voice, he began attempting to court her. Samantha never reciprocated the affection, although Henry even gave the crown jewels the previous Queen had presumably worn. Meanwhile, back in the 20th century Endora sent Darrin to find Samantha in the 1500's and kiss her, which would break the spell and let her remember everything, including her witchcraft. Darrin complied with Endora, leaving to the fifteenth century. He attempted to kiss Samantha many times, but Henry and his courtiers heard her screaming and ran to the room. Darrin summoned Endora, who came, and she fixed up a wrestling match between him and Henry, which she knew would play on Samantha's sympathy and cause her daughter to give Darrin the kiss. Darrin and Henry wrestled, although Darrin would run away and around. After he was caught and attacked, Samantha felt sympathy and she pushed through the circle, kissing him which allowed her to remember him, their children and her powers, which she said with the exclamation, "Darrin!" She used her witchcraft to transport them home and all was well. The Enchanted Unicorn Samantha's mother, the notoriously powerful and mischevious, mortal-hating Endora, had left Darrin a unicorn on his desk at work, with a note stating it was from his uncle. However, Darrin remained completely oblivious to the fact that Endora had recently just enchanted it. Every mortal who came within three feet of it told the absolute truth. This caused a riot with Darrin's client and also caused Darrin to reveal what he thought of a secretary at work. And this would not be the first time this had happened; previously, Endora had enchanted another magical ornament that had the exact same effect as this unicorn. However, Darrin eventually told the truth, professing his love for Samantha. Personality "''If I didn't want these things, I wouldn't be here. I enjoy taking care of myself and my family." Samantha to Darrin Samantha is shown to be a loyal, compassionate and intelligent person. However, she betrayed her own kind and kin to marry a mortal; she was too lenient with Darrin and should have kept her powers from the beginning. However, she is a very endearing person. This was noted by everyone she has significant relationships with. She likes being a housewife and doesn't like overly using her witchcraft. However, no matter how hard she tries not to use it, she does anyway. She can never stray far from her heritage. She has never ever been shown to be an awfully vindictive or cruel person, like most witches are towards humans. This is surprising, considering that Samantha's mother Endora hates mortals and presumably brought her daughter up with this belief. Samantha has also been shown to demonstrate a great deal of intelligence, able to cope well in bad situations and can solve a predicament entirely by herself. She is also a very good mother, although she neglected Tabitha at some stage for Adam's sake. Samantha-1-.jpg Lori1-1-.jpg Samantha also possessed a spirited and compassionate nature. She was considered by many in Morning Glory Circle to be very beautiful. She also proved to be beautiful and competent; she was very fiery in nature and also happened to be the only one who would stand up for her choices and beliefs. She was not afraid to be different to other witches and strongly believed in the justice and rightness of her marriage to Darrin. Despite having betrayed her own kind, she did not do it to be cruel or unjust; she even defied the Witches' Council, the head of all witches and even more powerful than the Queen or High Priestess. She would always stand up for what she believed was right. As a mother, Samantha was warm and kind natured. She was very adoring and maternal to her son Adam, even more than she was to her daughter Tabitha. She would call her children "beautiful" and act in the most motherly way towards them that was possible. She not only possessed physical perfection, but a good nature too. Her difference to other witches was that she did not loathe mortals and in fact married one. Although she was frequently threatened for this, she would never budge. She also had a high set of principles which she would not injure for anything. She also loved her children more than anything in the world. She was also not always serious; she would, a lot of the time, be humorful. Although Darrin would rarely reciprocate the humor, it didn't stop her. She was also brave willed and possessed a passionate and fiery spirit. The most beautiful natured and intelligent witch on the show, she also lacked a few personality aspects she may have needed. However, she got along with her life without the personality aspects she was missing. She, unlike many other people, possessed both physical and inner beauty. This was rare for witches. She was more unique than any other witch and had her own style, preferring to stay at home rather than just party and be carefree, the normal behavior of her cousin Serena. Relationships